Posted by Jonathan Adler:
Oprah's Irresponsibility:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_05_03-2009_05_09.shtml#1241698448
Apparently Oprah Winfrey is [1]giving a platform to
Playboy-bunny-turned-MTV-starlet-turned-anti-vaccine-activist Jenny
McCarthy, and plans to help her have [2]her own talk show. This is the
[3]height of irresponsibility. As Arthur Allen explains:
Celebrities take on all kinds of causes. They campaign for
presidents, and they rally to save the women of Darfur and the
hungry masses of Bangladesh and Africa. Some of these appearances
may do some good, while others are merely benign grandstanding. But
wealthy, toothsome, vivacious, and sexy Jenny McCarthy's
impassioned campaign is actually harmful. Why? Because she is
spreading dangerous misinformation�and that could bring some
once-controlled diseases back into play.
Or, as [4]Gawker puts it, "Oh, good, Oprah is going to give Jenny
McCarthy a talk show, because she wants your kid to die of the
measles."
Here's a potential silver lining: McCarthy's quite dingy and can't
spell to save her life -- "grimmess" for "grimace" in this [5]blog
post -- so maybe people will stop taking her anti-vaccine ravings all
that seriously and the Oprah-enhanced part of her career will be
short-lived. For our children's sake, I hope so.
References
1. http://www.oprah.com/bi/jenny-mccarthy
2.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i06056b3e4345348447df69f8ec765ae3
3. http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/entertainmentculture/
4.
http://gawker.com/5239636/oprah-joins-list-of-celebs-enabling-jenny-mccarthys-conspiracy-crusade
5. http://www.oprah.com/bi/jenny-mccarthy/blogs/On-the-road-again.html
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